Fair enough,best of luck.

sudden twang

Thank you for questioning my post. It was not until you did this that I realised my spelling mistakes. My English is not my strongest point. Instead of the word any, I meant to say many. I have just now edited my post.

As for your post regarding £300k pa, we know those days are over and never to return.

Agreed Black pudding things aren't what they were and there's a downward pressure on Ts and Cs. People will choose what's best for themselves and there are pros and cons with different operators.
I think Qatar are providing a good opportunity and I applaud them for that.

Would take Black Pudding's advice very, very careful. Was a captain at QR a while ago and it is really no place you want to be a long time(you will need to earn a lot of money to pay back that giant bank loan).
Why? If you fall for QR you will be stuck there, and that is excatly how they are calculating. Stuck in the money and training trap.

I can imagine that QR's backlog is big, it took me 9 years ago about 1 year between interview and finally joining(one of my biggest mistakes in my aviation career I want to add). And this was a fully trained and qualified captain.
So, actually 2 years is not so bad for green pilots. But still an incredible risk.

Would suggest - if you get something back home go for that option. OR - make an adequate investigation on your own about QR, it's history, it's CEO, the country, Doha itself. Decide if you want to be stuck with that for at least(!) 10 years, most likely much longer.

I know most of you are very young and a shiny aircraft most likely is the best what can ever happen - but believe me, it wears off. Very fast. At the end other things matter.

EDIT: Something positive for the end(they always tell me at the bloody CRM to be positive ^^) - most likely the british Cadets(SO) where the most pleasant copilots to fly with in QR. Hard landings sometimes(again, nothing to blame here then the company sitting someone green on a widebody) but nice fellas and fun to fly and during the layover. And least they did not ask me if the could pray during departure ;-) (must have been my flying, lol)

Good evening ladies and gents, just dropping a quick post to see if anyone has had any news back from CTC yet?

I agree with tomuchwork ^

I don't know why people go for these ridiculous MPL programs, you aren't doing yourself any favours in the long run. Some of my fondest memories are from flying in general aviation and turbo props. I understand the lure of flying a wide body right off the bat, and I probably would have been tempted too if I was offered the opportunity when I was 18. Having said that, I am looking to move onto a wide body now and I have almost 6000hrs. A lot of captains are going to be very hostile towards low time pilots, they shouldn't be but they will. Having some experience and PIC time will gain you a lot more respect in the flight deck, and you will have a much better time because the captain won't be watching you so closely. 99% of the time it is okay but on the one night a year when :mad: hits the fan, having an experienced FO next to you helps. Line training is also a lot easier when you start flying jets because most things are motor skills, you just have to get used to a higher performance aircraft and different techniques.

My advice: go and fly a turbo prop as an FO for a while, get a command and develop your skills, then jump into a narrow body and work your way up. I learned a LOT in the left seat of a turbo prop.... short sectors, :mad: weather, annoying pax and cabin crew, trying to stay on time, low time FOs... it all happens. You don't want to deal with that stuff for the first time in the left seat of a 777. Then again I guess it depends on the individual.

Good luck either way.

The reality of aviation with these large aircraft orders and baby boomers about to retire is that there is not a shortage of pilots, but a need. Just a need (demand). However understand that all the airlines who have MPL programs don’t use this as the only means for hire! Direct and Non Rated entry is still the majority. (I was told by CTC that QR need approx 36 graduates a year, that is not a lot!) It just comes down to the economics; the airline can get more out of you at an earlier age, and its another legal way they can fill a flight deck. Hence IMO why the MPL was created in the first place.

With regards to tomuchwork’s comments, judge for yourself. I couldn’t agree more that people should consider this a long run route (i.e. don’t think because in 2 years you’re flying a 320 you’ll be captain in 4…). PPRUNE has threads filled with expats who regret or point out the practices of most ME airlines they dot agree with, THIS IS WHAT YOU MUST DECIDE BEFOREHAND. Don’t make the decision and then fall back on it – you’ll be on pprune complaining faster than lightning. Do your own research about the city, cost of living, weather, family, the airline, the airport and judge for yourself if you can see yourself leaving your hometown for it.

We unfortunately have pilots applying to ME airlines without even have visited the city the airline operates from! What if when you move and your wife or kids dont like it? Or you cant grow accustomed to the weather or traffic? These are simple factors unfortunately pilots are overlooking. Again When you move to the middle east, it is culturally different, I am from there so I know how it is, it is not your cup of tea with biscuits like in the western world! You must learn to adapt and compromise, if you can’t please don’t apply. And if you THINK you can then please don’t be naïve, that is not enough. You must KNOW beforehand.

The airline at the end of the day is a business, whether CTC or astronaut, if you have the requirements and fill out that application, go through the tests and the interview and sign that letter, don't make it seem that the airline forced you. You control your own faith - COME ON PPL.

rant over lol:ugh:

Anyone have any info on start dates for QR MPL? Last I was told was 2017, anyone with more specifics?

has anyone got any more info about the course and when it begins, thinking of applying but ive got a stammer... would they not mind if in the interview I tell what im doing to get over it?

HI MiggHD I would recommend you contact CTC directly, no one here would honestly be able to answer your last question.

ok, well im just gonna go for it, ill work on my speech and hopefully I wont have any issues if im selected for an assement, i've been working on it for the last 2 years to fulfil my dream of becoming a Qatar pilot.

have some news that might help with people's decisions on this course. This is not 100% certain yet but after talking to EASA (directly) it sounds like this is the case...

The MPL that is issued at the end of the course is a QCAA approved MPL, NOT an EASA approved MPL. The ATPL exams on the course are EASA approved. What this means is that if you want to change airlines in the future you will have to redo your flight tests to obtain the same license but from a different authority. I think this is the same for when your MPL converts to an unfrozen ATPL, it will still be QCAA approved. I know it says on the CTC website that you will get an EASA MPL but this is not the case.

That's all I have for now, by all means if I have made a mistake please flag it up. :)

But why is the wait so long to begin training, i thought the Qatar MPL people were getting mixed with the people who are doing the whitetail route, or am I mistaken?

I think it's because the Qatar courses up until the end of 2017 are full...so the courses are backlogged basically. Also there is supposedly a backlog of cadets waiting to start line training / base training in Qatar. (I think but not 100% sure)

I don't fully understand what you mean by the QR MPL guys getting mixed with whitetails? They sometimes have classes together if that's what you mean?

Not sure if I have answered your questions well but hope I have helped somewhat.

ohh, so I guess all the people waiting to start training are living in Company accommodation on Salary? and get free flights to home countries

MiggHD;I doubt whether any company would be so generous :=

so will the Qatar people be on Al-Maha Aircraft,as they only fly to gulf regions, or will it be on Qatar airways aircraft

Apparently yes they are on a reduced Second officer salary (I don't know how much that is) and either given company accommodation or an allowance to find their own, while they finish their line training. This coming from cadets currently out there.

I'll be honest I don't know much about Al Maha Airlines, but I think they are only for domestic flights within Saudi Arabia (not to or from Qatar). I'm not sure they are even licensed to fly yet so my best guess would be that current QR cadets will do their base/line training on QR aircraft in Doha.

Please remember I'm not at this stage yet so don't know for sure. I am just going by other cadets' experiences and what I can find on the internet.

ah ok thanks devvo. how long is the application window usually on for?
as im thinking of applying once I get my GSCE results on 25th August. Im really happy to wait till 2017 to start, but obvs if I get through selection, and having a stammer, it will be tough

No worries MiggHD, I think the application window is usually open for a couple of months, I guess that may depend on how many applicants they get though. I am confident it will still be open by the end of August. However have you asked CTC if you can apply before you get your results and input them later?

As for your stammer, I don't know whether this would affect you or not. You could try contacting Dr Peter Orton at Aviation Medica, Stansted Airport - I saw that you're in the UK. He's the only person in the UK (and possibly Europe?) to certify a QCAA Class 1 Medical. Maybe try calling them and see what they about your stammer - it may be that they can't make that decision, but I am sure they could offer you better advice than most people on here (me included) :) They're easily found on google

Hi everyone!

I've just been offered an invitation to take the pilot assessment. May I know what is to be expected from the test itself? How would you rate the difficulty?

Thanks!